8 Ways to Say I Love You
by St. Walker
Summary: These are the 7 ways Percy almost says "I love you" to Annabeth, and the one time he does. Oneshots. Slightly AU.


Author's** Note: **I decided to start this little collection of Percabeth oneshots because I was thinking about the moment when Percy would first tell Annabeth how he feels, how deeply he cares, and I came up with these ideas of how Percy would ALMOST say "I love you" to her, and the one time he actually does.

Also, I know that by now, Percy would've said these three words to her, but it was just an idea. So I suppose this story is AU.

I don't know exactly where this is going, I haven't though of all of them, but I hope you enjoy these oneshots. Please read and review! It would mean so much.

**Disclaimer: **Rick Riordan owns Percy Jackson and the Olympians.

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**1. Drunk **

You're wasted tonight. Nico invited you out, leaning up against the door frame in your open-windowed office, both of you breathing in Summer winds and the high-pitched wail of sirens in the distance. Without much hesitance, he picked at paint chips of the wall, glancing over the same photo of you and her he's seen every time he comes in, waiting for your prolonged answer as you weighed pros and cons.

"Honestly," He said, watching you with mild amusement, the edge of his thin lips curling, "you've been around her for way too long. You actually think about your decisions."

You scowled as his grin widened, ignoring him. He only wanted to see your anger, a self-proclaimed favorite "hobby" of his. So your lips returned to a sickeningly sweet smile. You both knew it was fake. "Of course I'll come, you idiot. I just need to inform her about this. We had plans and such."

"Whipped," He murmured as you nimbly punched the numbers into your office phone. As the dial tone droned on in your right ear, ignoring Nico's dumb comments, your eyes wandered over the framing of your diploma from NYU; Marine Biology. You smiled. Fond memories reappeared, and then she answered.

"Hey."

Your smile widened. "Hey there."

Knowing your voice right away, she laughed. "Seaweed Brain."

You laughed with her, switching the phone to the other side, watching as Nico putting his hand through a shadow, and then pulled it back, bringing an umbrella with him. "Hi."

She laughed again. "Hello again. What do you want?"

"You," You said on reflex, blushing furiously. "No, um. Nico wants me to go get drinks with him tonight."

She groaned. You closed your eyes, imagining her in her apartment, her lips pursing, her fingernails tugging on her deliciously golden curls, as if sunlight twirled down from her head, lighting the air around her with defining brightness. You sighed slightly, an easy breath exhaling as your mind ran with the idea of her on her couch, reading, gracefully leaned against a throw pillow, her body arched forward as she twisted in agitation at his announcement. "Do you have to go?"

"You know the kid," You said, playing up the situation in whole for the fun of it, hoping for a rise out of Nico. "He'll throw a tantrum if he doesn't get his way."

Nico threw you a menacing look, and you smiled innocently_, _continuing your conversation. "So I hope you don't mind if I go out with the kid. Wouldn't want a bunch of skeletons running amok, you know?"

Nico huffed in the background, but you ignored him, listening as Annabeth spoke. "But I'll miss you dearly! And I had this great Architecture movie picked out..."

Sarcasm dripped from her lips, but to anyone else she would've sounded completely serious. "Oh darn, that sounds like a lot of fun."

She giggled, and your heart wrenched further out of your chest, debating whether or not you could still turn this whole situation and find yourself curled up with Annabeth, even if it meant watching a documentary on Gothic windows. "Another time then?"

Nico started banging his head lightly against your wall, and you hastily replied, "Always. Gotta go, Nico's getting into self-harm again."

"The wall again?"

"Honestly, he needs to find better anger management habits."

You both paused then, wondering who would say good-bye first, and that pounding in your chest you've had for months reappears, a queasy feeling penetrating your stomach. "Um... I... like you."

Immediately you hit yourself on the forehead, half-listening to the snickering from your best friend. Through the static you almost heard her frown. "I like you too? See ya Perce."

"Bye."

Right when the line went dead you placed your head against your desk, groaning loudly. "Smooth."

You looked up to see Nico wearing a cocky smirk, leaning up against the door frame. "Shut up."

"I'm just saying," He continued with a shrug, "You've been dating for a year or so now, best friends for longer, and yet you haven't said that yet? I mean, I've said it to more girls."

"Quantity isn't quality," You reminded him, taking your jacket off the hook as you closed the door to your office, shutting the lights off. Suddenly, after such a failure to say how you feel, you needed a drink, desperately. "Let's get going."

And that brings you to here, wasted. Utterly, completely, and desperately wasted. Whiskey burns your throat as the quiet lights pound against your head. The bar you've found is heavy with the aroma of burning tongues and hungry eyes, girls slipping into arms of men they've never met. You and Nico sit at the bar, occasionally talking with the bartender, ordering drink after drink. He hasn't stopped and you won't either. You half listen to him as you watch the people around you, glass crackling against glass and mahogany, laughter pervading your mind, a deep, mindless throbbing pricking the back of your head as you down another glass, ice cubes clattering when you set your glass down.

"All I'm say," Nico slurs, leaning against his hand. You're wasted, he's wasted, everyone's wasted. "Er. All I'm saying about here, I mean her, is that she's damn pretty. And I like her like a dog likes another dog. Like I want to snuggle her, and feed her, and take her on walks, and..."

"So the way a human loves a dog?" You ask.

"Yeah!" He exclaims, tipping his glass slightly before nimbly catching the tip with his thumb. "That's it. I like her. I love her. I'm going to date her forever."

"You don't even know her," You say, glancing up at the girl in question, her hips swaying slightly to thin music encasing the bar. "I don't even know her. We both don't know her. What if she's not a girl?"

Nico shakes his head. "I don't care. I'm going to go talk to her. And date her. And love her."

He's rambling again, and even though you can barely feel your lips, your mind opens slightly. "How can you say that so easily? 'Love.' I can't do that."

"Yes you can!" Nico mutters, hitting you on the shoulder. Mentally an "ow" stumbles through your head. "You just. You go and you say it. Call her!" He adds, his eyes lighting maniacally.

"Yes, call her!" He reasons, shaking his glass, scotch spilling out, landing on mahogany. "Do it and yeah. You do that and I'm gonna... I'm gonna go tell that girl I love her."

He stands up, gripping the chair for support before sauntering off to the brunette. You watch him, laughing slightly, taking another swig of whiskey. Courage.

You fumble for your phone before clicking the password and finding her apartment phone number. Call her, you call her.

Ring. Ring. Ring. Ring. "Hey this is Annabeth, I'm not here right now..."

Shoot. You decide to leave a message.

"Ay Annabeth," You slur, your left index finger plugging your left ear. "Hey. You. You're fucking beautiful and you have hair and it's gold. And I want you right now and forever and when we get married we should have a cake with two monkeys instead of a bride and a groom 'cause we're monkeys!"

You laugh roughly, coughing slightly. "We're monkeys. Ha. And. And I love you. I'm in love with you and we should make some monkey love, you know? Do what monkeys do. But without the loud screeching. Well. Maybe the loud screeching. Okay? Okay. Bye."

Deeming that as the exact definition of perfect, you smile smugly and hang up. Damn you're smooth.

The following morning, you're damn wrong.

You wake up in your bed, your lips dry, your hair stuck up in a thousand different directions, your eyes bloodshot and half-open, and, deep within your brain, you feel a triple pounding.

_I. Love. You. _

It repeats and repeats, over and over again. Fuck. You really screwed it up this time. Shit.

Continuing to curse, you pull yourself out of bed, groping wildly for the door handle to the bathroom. You turn on the lights and instantly regret your force of habit. You squint wide enough to see the digital clock near the mirror. 7:53.

Suddenly you're showering, water running all along your body like blood, and then you're dressed and running out the door with a coffee mug in hand, your tie loosely hanging around your neck. It's a Saturday, yeah, but you have a mission.

You make it to Annabeth's in record time, pulling out the key she gave to you a long time ago. You reflect on how odd it is you both have keys to each other's apartment, but you've never said the L word. Never mind that. You unlock the front door and run up to her apartment, unlocking that one too before quietly creeping into her apartment, silently cursing the creaking of her wood floors. Setting your jacket down lightly on an armchair, you walk over to her answering machine to see the beeping red light. You press the play button.

The moment you hear the dull thumps of music echoing through the room, you wince, pulling back ever so slightly. Damn.

"Ay, Annabeth," your voice says, the words running together. Idiot. "Hey. You. You're fucking beautiful and you have hair and it's gold. And I want you right now and forever and when we get married we should have a cake with two monkeys instead of a bride and a groom 'cause we're monkeys!"

You grimace. All right, perhaps maybe this isn't too bad. And then.

"We're monkeys. Ha. And. And I love you - "

You hastily cut it off, deleting the message with groan. You could not be more stupid. That was not the way to say it, that would never be the way to say it. You kick yourself mentally and in the background you hear rustling from Annabeth's room. She's waking. Hurriedly, you run into the kitchen, acting as if you're fixing her coffee or breakfast. A little surprise, much better than the one you might not have stopped.

As you twirl a spoon in her favorite coffee mug, the one with the Parthenon, she walks in with a yawn, her curls wispy, slight bags under her eyes. Dammit she's beautiful. In a small prayer you thank Athena for letting you have Annabeth.

She starts suddenly when she sees you, a small smile creeping onto her surprised face. You smile back, despite the nervous tension clouding you. What if she heard it somehow? The message, the three words you're afraid to say. All of it. You shake the thought out of your head, handing her the mug, your fingers brushing her excitedly. After all these years, even that gives you lovely pleasure.

A look of contented electricity passes her face and you know she feels that way too. "You're a bit early. And on a Saturday too."

You grin. "Surprise?"

"I'm impressed," Annabeth replies, standing on her toes to kiss your cheek, staying there with her breath pressed against your skin for the longest two seconds. "Why?"

You shrug noncommittally, looking away from her always piercing gaze. "Just thought we could get breakfast or something. Brunch? That's a thing, right?" You add, joking easily to mask the true intentions of your appearance. Still, your breathing is uneasy and you watch her eyes when she isn't looking at you, checking to see if she'll glance at the phone. But she doesn't. Not once. Maybe you're in the clear.

She chuckles and brightens. "Oh! We should go to that place on 5th, the one with the really good banana bread. Would be great for us."

"Oh?" You ask. "Why is that?"

She nudges you in the rib, leaning her chin against your chest and looking up at you. "Cause we're two monkeys."

You choke. She heard, she had to have heard. That's the only reason she would've brought it up. Shit, you are definitely not in the clear. You're also definitely sweating.

"Seaweed Brain?" Annabeth murmurs, her brow furrowing. "What's wrong?"

You look into her eyes and see the pure innocence of them. "Why are we monkeys?"

She shrugs, still watching you carefully. "I dunno. We goof around a lot and like climbing trees and share an odd passion for bananas."

You exhale weakly, grinning at didn't hear it. Just a coincidence. "Right of course. We are monkeys for that reasons. Sure, let's go to that place on 5th."

You turn away from her, moving to find her jacket and give it to her. "You sure you're all right?"

You wave off her worried glance. "I'm fine. I just... drank a bit last night."

She scowls, but you see a hint of a smile. "Silly Kelp Head, I knew it."

"Wasn't my fault," You protest.

She shakes her head. "Nico didn't force you to drink anything."

It's your turn to scowl and she laughs, taking your hand. "Come on. I'm hungry."

You walk out with her, ignoring the shaking in your body. For the rest of the day you avoid her curious stares, waving your pale complexion and shaking hands off as a rather powerful hangover, ignoring the words on the tip of your lips each time she smiles at you.

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**Author's Note: **Wow. I'm so glad I finally finished that. I really loved this bit a lot. Stay tuned for the next few, I'll be writing a lot of them, probably eight. A nice small sized story, you know? I'm not sure if this will be a collection of oneshots or I'll make it more chronological and story like. Hm. We'll see.

Just please read and review, yeah? It would mean a lot! Thanks!

-St. Walker


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